How To Properly Manage Aircraft Component TATs

There is nothing more frustrating than your aircraft component being delayed. It’s a pull your hair out moment.

Your TAT(turnaround time) is 21 days but 30 days later you still have nothing. You’re more stressed than ever and your blood boils with every passing day.

Supply chain delays are a common stressor. Both time and money are on the line. How do you eradicate this problem? Or can you at all?

It's very difficult to eliminate completely, but with a few steps we can reduce common TAT issues.

Now there is no magic fairy dust and to fix this it takes effort from all supply chain partners.

Follow-up schedule

You're probably thinking, duh, I know I have to follow-up, but this step often gets overlooked.

When an order is placed whether it be a PO or RO, you'll inevitably have to follow up in some form or fashion. Think of this as effective communication, staying engaged and friendly.

Go a step further and create a follow-up schedule leading up to your predetermined ship date. This will help alleviate stress and unnecessary thinking.

On time delivery alerts and reporting

With every order you place you must track your on time deliveries.

This will give you a well needed overview of your supply chain health. Are orders being delayed because of supplier lead times or is there something else holding up delivery? This could be your freight forwarder, customs, or various other things.

Tracking your on time deliveries will help you pinpoint issue areas.

You should also have a visual report so it’s easier to see and manage. Your ERP system may have this within it’s platform, or you can just export it to excel.

Dedicated support for 24/7 updates

Babysitting supply chain partners is a common theme. You can avoid this by having dedicated support.

If you work with a company who has various sales people managing your account or you’re working with someone who's unresponsive, your service will suffer.

When you have dedicated account managers you can be sure you'll have a partner that will help you work through any issues you may be having.

Contingencies

It is not your responsibility to have contingencies. You have plenty more things to worry about.

Your supply chain partner should have contingencies in place if any issues arise. Ask them, if something happens, do you have backups in place so I receive what I want, when I want it?

Sometimes scarcity plays a role, but at least you'll know that there's no contingencies in place and you can prepare on your end as well. Being prepared is a much needed asset.

Choose the right supply chain partner

The next and most overlooked step is choosing the right supply chain partner. If price is your only concern then you're going to lack in service.

When service suffers and more issues arise, you spend more money over time. Focus your attention on overall value being created. When you work with supply chain partners who create "wow" experiences you'll be much happier and see your TAT issues decline.

As you can see, reducing your TAT is about having a simple follow up plan backed by issue reporting and supported by a trustworthy supply chain partner.

Do you have TAT issues? Do you need to make your supply chain more efficient? We can help. Fill out the form below and we'll start making you a TAT rockstar.

Airlines Need More Cash & Here’s How To Get It

Airlines and aircraft MROs are under the constant pressure of needing more cash.

Cash is the lifeblood for all organizations. Without it you’re heavily leveraged against debt, liquidity is non-existent, and the cash flow isn't able to sustain the core objectives of the organization.

It’s a lot of pressure. This is the trouble many airlines are up against.

I was speaking to an airline CEO a few weeks back and we began talking about his financial situation. They weren't driving enough gross profit and were highly leveraged against debtors. They couldn’t even take on a new strategy to get them out of the trouble they were in. The future of this airline is highly questionable and now they’re in discussion of being bought out by a much larger airline…to “save” them.

This CEO and the ones before him forgot cash flow is king.

Generating more cash and sustaining the core objectives is an imperative strategy to take full advantage of.

It’s really a no brainer. A must. A do or die mindset.

Too much cash is tied up in inventory

Right now, as my fingers twiddle away on this keyboard there’s a high value being placed on an airlines return on capital. You know, the accounting and finance calculations that put you to sleep during your undergrad.

Well now it’s time to wake up.

This particular formula tells you how well your airline generates cash flow relative to the capital invested. Important.

As an airline stocks parts, they reduce their capital liquidity and lengthen their cash flow cycle. Having inventory, both expendables and rotables, isn’t the best strategic decision for most airlines.

There’s too much time and money being tied up on the shelf. This stocking mindset has a negative impact on the return on capital. Your cash flow cycle lengthens and you become negatively leveraged against your inventory.

It’s risky, much like hedging fuel, but unless you want to open your own refinery like Delta, fuel risks are essential. Stocking risks are plain silly.

There's thousands of reasons why you should avoid excess inventory. Hear it from me, the less you have, the more cash you’ll have if the right strategy is in place.

Outsource your inventory needs

It’s very common to hear in the news about airlines outsourcing. Do you think the stewardess cooks the food or the pilot washes the windows? Not likely. The same is true for aircraft components…well it should be at least.

JetBlue outsources everything.

When you’re paying 20% a year for the value of your aircraft components in holding costs, you quickly feel the impact that inventory sucks cash.

There are many ways to go about this, but first think about your objectives. What issues are you trying to resolve? When deciding on a new strategy it’s always best to look for ways to reduce issues. You can then maximize efficiency later. It could be that you have millions of dollars tied up in inventory for your hub in Dubai, or that you spend too much money on high price, high usage components, and need more support with safety stock. Whatever it is, think hard.

When looking at your inventory and aircraft component needs you want to know which parts to stock (pooling and on-demand programs), where they're to be stocked, and how much to stock, including safety stock. Each component both rotable and consumable is classified by the following:

• Low price, short response time, high usage
• Low price, short response time, low usage
• Low price, long response time, high usage
• Low price, long response time, low usage
• High price, short response time, high usage
• High price, short response time, low usage
• High price, long response time, high usage
• High price, long response time, low usage

Don’t pay too much attention to price as that will naturally take care of itself if you outsource both your rotable and expendable consumption. You want to focus most of your efforts covering high usage and long response time items. These items will cause you the biggest problems if you don't have a proper strategy in place. They’ll also cost you the most money. I know, it’s weird how that works.

The best place to start is by reviewing the 300 - 600 rotables that are high usage, no-go items for your aircraft. If you have multiple aircrafts then you just do a simple math calculation and times those parts by the amount of aircrafts you have (of the same kind of course). This gives you a blueprint of what items cause you the most stress and what items consume much of your cash for inventory needs.

The same goes for expendables and consumables. Create a list of your high usage items. Although these are often times low priced, if you have a large fleet, the cost of the items can be in the millions. Reducing the time on shelf will ensure better cash flow management and eliminate wasteful activities.

The final decision for you to make is to outsource your rotable and expendable needs. If you hold $1,000,000 worth of inventory you’re likely paying $200,000 a year in holding costs to support your inventory. If you eliminated your inventory entirely you would have an additional $200,000 to support other important activities for your operation. A better cash management strategy I would say.

Save your money and outsource, it’s as simple as that.

P.S. We have a rotable Pooling program as well as an expendable On-Demand and Just In Time program to cover all of your cash management needs. Click the links to learn more or fill out the form below.

Never Buy A High Usage Aircraft Expendable Again

What if you never bought another aircraft expendable or consumable again?

How much time and money would that free up for you? In a world of high stress and reactive decisions, dealing with aircraft expendables is a tedious task. From all the line items and quality assurance specifications, it gets overwhelming fast. You spend a lot of time stressing over these items when you should be worrying about your most important objectives for the day.

Dealing with these pesky little aircraft parts takes time for most airlines and MROs. It get’s even worse when you have a long list of these to procure. From the coordination and delivery, time and money slips through the cracks.

In our fast paced aviation world, you’re so used to working under a reactive state, but being proactive is much more efficient.

But guess what? It’s normal and I’ve seen hundreds of airlines and MROs fix this problem. This gives them more time and money to focus on their core objectives.

Consume aircraft expendables the proactive way

The definition of proactive is “…creating or controlling a situation by causing something to happen rather than responding to it after it has happened.” For your expendables it’s having what you need, when you need it, right before you have to consume it.

When the maintenance and engineering team tells the procurement department that they need 50 lines of washers, hi-loks, tape, wire, and switches, many of the times this list is procured in a rush with the best options being overlooked.

A lot of times I see airlines and MROs procure all 50 lines from 30+ different sources. This is a huge mistake in supply chain efficiency. They just doubled their freight expenditure, not to mention all of the additional processing tasks they’ll have to do.

One way to reduce this is to have a partner that’s an expert in working long list requirements. Another way is to think proactive. What can you do to beat the chaos? What can you do to pre-plan and have expendables shipped to you with the least amount of time on your shelves? How can you organize your supply chain so you have what you want, when you want it, and where you want it?

A Just In Time and On-Demand aircraft expendable and consumable solution is about streamlining your operation.

This solution isn’t for everybody. If you’re a small airline and MRO who doesn’t see the same high usage expendables on a regular basis, then building your high usage expendable and consumable list for forecasting is a waste of your time. You won’t have enough volume yet to experience the benefits, but working with a key partner for your long lists will still give you tons of benefits.

On the other side, if you are a large airline and MRO who procures the same high usage material, the best option would be to automate delivery. Just think about the benefits of not having to cut POs, overstock or worry about shipping from multiple areas. The savings is huge.

The strategic framework this is built on is to reduce stress, be more efficient, and be proactive in your decisions.

P.S. We have an amazing Just In Time and On-demand program for our airline and MRO partners. Check it out by clicking here.

Why You’re A Babysitter More Than A Purchasing Professional

When you were younger did you ever watch over your younger siblings while your parents were gone? Or maybe it was the neighbors child, or a family friend.

Babysitting is about micromanaging children's every move. When they cry you try to calm them down, when they are hungry you feed them, when they leave your sight you follow them, when they don’t answer you talk louder. It’s about staying on top of them to make sure they’re okay and doing the right thing.

Dealing with 95% of all MROs and aircraft component partners is like taking on a full time babysitting job. One that you didn’t sign up for.

The brutal facts of babysitting

By now you’re probably imagining suppliers wearing diapers and crying like babies, well some of them do cry a lot, but that’s not it.

When you work with various MROs and aircraft components suppliers you have to babysit their every move. Did they ship? Why aren’t they responding? They didn’t send me an update, I must follow-up. It even gets worse when suppliers promise the world before the order, and fail to follow through on their promise. They care more about the money than the relationship.

This is what I like to call the babysitting syndrome. The more vendors you work with, the more babysitting you’ll have to do. It’s just how it is. You’ll have more RFQs to send and process, more POs to cut, more orders to follow-up on, more issues to deal with, more phone calls and emails to make, and more excuses to hear.

Some Purchasing Departments I talk with are like a full time day care. They have to babysit way too many people. This is not efficient and order follow-ups fail because there’s too much to focus on.

Efficiency isn’t in how many suppliers you deal with, it’s when you hit a point where you rely on less support that generates the most gains.

Focus on efficiency and fire yourself as a babysitter

Nobody wants to babysit their suppliers through the purchasing process. It’s a terrible waste of your time.

If you have ever talked to me for very long you’ll know that I speak fast, but I’m also incredibly dedicated and fascinated with efficiency. You know the whole concept. Why do something in 10 hours when it can be done in 2? For me efficiency is easy to manage, but when you involve various people and moving components, it gets difficult.

It’s important you put trust into a partner who you know is dedicated to building long term relationships. Relationships built on trust and efficiency are crucial. This concept alone is worth a million dollars. Pay me later? No? Okay!

It’s amazing how large amounts of time and money are wasted with inefficient solutions. We’re talking billions baby!

When you deal with unqualified and unproductive companies, you’re babysitting role gets worse. Isn’t that true? Don’t you feel like a babysitter 90% of the time when you deal with these folks?

The first thing you need to do is walk into the nearest bathroom and look at yourself in the mirror and ask yourself, “Why have I become a babysitter?” Really think hard about this. After you’ve come up with your reason, write it down and tell yourself you are no longer going to babysit your aircraft maintenance partners and suppliers. That’s it, it’s final and you’re making a change.

Then go back to your desk and pick your top partners, or who you think could be a top partner. These are people you rarely have to babysit. You trust and respect them. If you prefer something to be done in a certain way communicate your needs so they can help create an efficient solution. Communication is crucial.

The benefit of this simple concept is when you focus on building relationships with people whom you trust, you’ll babysit less and become more efficient.

P.S. We have a babysit free zone, especially when you have a request for 25+ parts that you need to order. We are experts in supporting both maintenance checklists and routine long lists. If you’re interested in how we can support your list requirements enter your details below.

9 Truths You Don’t Want To Hear About When Working A Long List RFQ

Working long requirement lists is difficult. You’re in charge of getting prices and availability and the pressure is on.

At a very basic level you send an RFQ to a predetermined list of people. But on a more complex level you send out the RFQ, input the quotes, determine best options, weigh all best case scenarios, cut POs, babysit suppliers, organize various shipments, resolve issues, track AWBs, work with freight forwarders to ensure no delays, and the task list goes on and on.

In fact sending out RFQs is easy. It’s the coordination of who and when to purchase from that’s stressful.

You make it more complex than necessary. Not because you don’t know what you’re doing, but you’ve just been doing it for so many years. You’ve built a habit.

Why processing a long aircraft maintenance RFQ has you stressed

When processing a long RFQ list the stress you feel is determined on the type of planning you do. There are two ways you can go about it.

One, you can send your requirement as a mass blind copy email to everyone you know. The problem is you’ll get a flood of quotes back and begin to experience data overwhelm.

Two, you can send an email to your top, trusted partner. In a streamlined fashion they’ll quote your long aircraft maintenance list and the best case scenario and worst case scenario for lead times. They’ll also help you consolidate and save money in various areas of the distribution and maintenance process. This decision will give you more time to focus on your actual aircraft maintenance and take a substantial amount of burden off your chest.

Those are your two options.

If you decide on option one, here are 9 honest truths you must live with:

1. You’ll spend more money on freight cost. Factor in 2% of total cost per part for freight if you procure from multiple source. When you streamline your procurement activities and consolidate with a trusted partner the cost will be driven down to .5% - 1% of the total cost of your order.
2. Prepare to resolve issues. The more you spread your purchasing activities the more issues that will arise. It’s when you reduce your supplier count that will help mitigate issues occurring. Your partner should try to resolve any issues that occur prior to you even knowing. This keeps things moving and reduces stress.
3. You’ll become a full time supplier babysitter. The more suppliers you work with the more time and money you’ll spend babysitting them. From having to call for order updates to getting AWBs, there’s a ton of activities to keep them “honest.”
4. You’ll spend more of your time processing orders. The more POs you cut to various sources the more you have to process both on the purchasing side and on the receiving side. This takes time and draws your attention away from other activities.
5. You’ll get headaches more often. Have you ever heard a supplier try to make excuses of why something is delayed or why they have to cancel? It makes your head throb and the more suppliers you deal with the more you’ll hear the petty excuses.
6. You’ll have to organize all of the individual quotes coming in from multiple suppliers, instead of having one long quote from a trusted partner.
7. Most suppliers only want to deal with rotables (not us!), so you’ll have to worry about meeting PO minimums for expendables and consumables. Don’t forget to tac on freight cost in addition to these items.
8. You’ll still have to worry about all of your consumable and expendable needs. These are the inglorious parts but when you add them into consolidations you save tons of money. It’s our little secret, we love consumables and expendables!
9. When you process RFQs and orders without a plan your anxiety and stress levels skyrocket.

It all comes down to being efficient. How can you save the most time and money and get your requirements when and as needed?

If this means consolidating your order with one supplier, then do it.  It will make your aviation life much easier.

Remember, you want to utilize proactive solutions in a highly reactive industry.

P.S. We quote thousands of parts every week to our airline partners. We have it down to a science. We not only quote the material, we deliver it through our $ave By Consolidating initiative. A lot of the times it’s through our maintenance check program. Interested? Fill out the form below….

How To Get Efficient Support For A 50+ Aircraft Part RFQ List

Has your maintenance and engineering team ever sent you a 50 part requisition list? Of course they have.

These long lists are daunting. You have to review the list, send out RFQs, and then eventually cut POs. It get’s even worse when you try to manage all the POs you’ve cut, making sure the aircraft parts get to you on time and on budget (not just the PO price but the overall cost of the order).

It’s time consuming and stressful.

You start by sending your long aircraft part list to 20+ suppliers. In reality, it makes sense. You test the market and see who has the best price and send POs from there. Right?

No, wrong.

This is inefficient and counterproductive. Sending out the email is the easy part. What happens when you start processing RFQs and sending POs?

Are you going to send POs to 20 different suppliers? If so, your costs now have doubled once you factor in processing and transit costs.

This mindset gets expensive. Sit back and think about it. Really dig deep on all of the cost associated with cutting so many POs.

What if there was a better way? What if you cut 1 PO and saved thousands of dollars on freight and time, and nothing else changed (i.e. delivery time, quality, etc.)?

It’s possible…

Streamline your RFQ process

In an industry where time is money, creating strategies to expedite operational processes is integral to any airlines success.

What if you could send a 50 part list, have it quoted by one supplier in 5 days, and at your facility in another 5 days? Imagine the cost savings associated with this streamlined focus.

Instead of sending out mass emails (I know, I know, this is tough since it’s a way to price market) send out several RFQs to your top suppliers. If they're your top supplier, they’ll be able to support 90% of your RFQ list.

Once you have your quote, you process the order. We like to call this “$ave By Consolidating.” It’s as simple as that.

When you mass email, you receive hundreds of quotes and no quotes that you have to process. Who has the best price, who’s approved, where is it shipping from, who has what, and when can they get it to us? It get’s chaotic fast.

When you process long lists through one trusted supplier you benefit from efficient communication and price conscious consolidations.

Meet my 1 list aircraft part RFQ strategy & it starts with trust

This is the time when you put your trust into an honest partner.

If they haven’t or can’t prove they’ve supported such a long list requirement, I caution you now. Quoting is the easy part. It’s the coordination of having stock availability and close ties with OEM networks and MROs to getting your material on time and on budget.

It’s not your responsibility to play babysitter to 50 suppliers. It’s your responsibility to keep your aircraft in the air, reducing downtime, and increasing up-time.

When a 50 part requirement comes across your desk, do the following:

1. Send this 50 part list to a trusted partner.
2. Have them quote it in a timely manner, typically 3 - 5 days for a 50 part list.
3. Review the quote and notice the lead times. The majority of the spares should ship within 3 - 10 business days depending on the requirement. More rotables might extend lead times if they have to get repaired. But communication is key so tell them your exact requirements.
4. Cut 95% - 100% of the RFQ list to one trusted partner and let them work their magic.
5. Upon completion review how they communicated through this process.

Once you receive your material, review their performance. If there was minimal errors and they were super responsive, you found your trusted long list preferred partner.

P.S. We work hundreds of long lists every week and often times they’re apart of our maintenance check program. We are no strangers in coordinating our $ave by consolidating mindset and supporting airlines with 20 - 160 component shipments. We can prove it. Send your list today and start by filling out the below form.

A Successful A-O-G In 1-2-3

You’ve heard it from hundreds of companies, “we have a 24/7/365 AOG service.”

It’s like throwing rocks into an ocean. Some rocks sink faster than others, and the same is true with the hundreds of 24/7 AOG service claims.

Some use the term for marketing purposes, while others have an exclusive AOG service for stock items (that’s the goal right?).

95% of all AOG services are reactive solutions. A true airline AOG service isn’t just about getting you a single aircraft component in the shortest amount of time.  It’s about much more than that. A sound AOG service focuses it's attention on preventative strategies. The true magic happens when partners (airline + component distributor) sit down and discuss proactive solutions.

Aircraft maintenance will always have it’s bouts of reactive issues, but it’s beating these issues down on the front end…before they become an AOG problem.

It’s about stopping the AOGs before they ever become an actual AOG.

Create an AOG list

Some airlines have reoccurring AOGs for the same product line, which is where safety stock plays an integral role. Others experience component failures along a statistical spread based on mean times between failures (MTBF) and mean time between removals (MTBR).

Some airlines experience AOGs for just rotables, while others experience AOGs for rotables, consumables, and expendables.

So what does this mean for you?

You’ve worked on your MEL no-go list, but every airline operation is unique. From a fleet flying around the sandy Saharan desert, to fleets flying through the blistering cold of the Alaskan frontier, every operation is different.

In order to combat your onslaught of AOGs without having to invest millions in safety stock and life limited consumables, first create your high usage AOG list.

• Rotables: Create a list of your high removal rate, no-go rotables. Of course don’t just leave it at this. If you have certain product lines that have reoccurring unplanned removals, add them to this list. This list is your rotable AOG strategy playbook. You add and remove components to this list as needed. This is your baseline analytical forecasts. They get much more complicated than this but this is a start.
• Expendable: The next tier of AOG prevention is building your high usage expendable list. When you know what expendables are consumed most frequently or are needed  most often, prepare your list.
• Consumables: The same is true for your consumable list. Create a high usage consumable list.

Do you see where I’m going with this?

Now that you’ve created a list of no-go and high usage items, you move on to the next step…

Having rotables, expendables & consumables at the right time, in the right place

Minimizing your AOG is having the right part, at the right time, in the right place…without drastically increasing you’re operating expenditure. Having inventory suck away your available cash (more on that below) is a disaster waiting to happen.

The next step is to logically think of your logistical and procurement plan. Buying material on an AOG basis is making you reactive which is unproductive. You have to plan solutions on the front end.

Here are some ideas that can be applied to the 3 lists you created in the previous section:

• Invest heavy amounts of cash for keeping your safety stock replenished (not my preferred recommendation)
• Use a pooling or PBH program so you pay for performance and limit your capital risk on inventory.
• Work with your supplier to replenish the lists you created every X (x days, x months, x quarters, etc) or based on a consumption forecast you worked on together.
• Have your supplier stock high usage material near your facility for easy access. Pay for material only as you consume it.
• Send your component partner the 3 lists you created and have them keep stock on hand.
• Have your partner create a logistical strategy to your facility. If transit time is an issue, have them propose a solution.
• Consolidate monthly reoccurring purchases to your facility, reducing expenditure and increasing material delivery.
• Have your component partner stock high-usage, high AOG probability parts at your facility. Pay for access, pay for usage.

As you can see, the strategies are limitless and they  surround your need to reduce AOGs and inventory expenditure. Your component partner is an expert (Skylink being one these of course) who will help you create these strategies.

Reducing the financial burden of preventative AOG strategies

Forget the statistics of spending $1.5M per aircraft in inventory. You make money in the air. Inventory is on the ground. Your goal is to be efficient not only with your fleet but also with your cash.

There are component distributors who specialize in inventory, that’s what they do. For you not to take advantage of this puts you at a financial disadvantage. Take JetBlue for example. They outsource everything, and are a profitable airline because of it. They’ve reduced their overhead and focused on core, money-making activities.

The same is true for you.

Come up with your 3 lists and work with your trusted partner to devise a strategy where they support your every rotable, expendable and consumable need.

It can be much easier than having to constantly react to AOGs. Be proactive and beat your AOGs on the front end.

P.S. We’ve come up with airline support strategies for all of our airline clients. Are you having an increase in AOGs? Do you want to be more proactive in your component support? Do you want to spend less money on inventory and AOG processing? Do you want more cash to support your operation? If yes, fill out the below form and let’s get started TODAY.

27 Ways To Prepare For An Aircraft On Ground (AOG)

When you hear the 3 letters, A-O-G, it makes you cringe.

Your heart rate pumps at high speeds and the frantic, I-have-to-fix-this-now mindset begins.

I agree it’s stressful, but if you'rE prepared before the AOG, it’ll make your aviation life  much easier.

That’s why I compiled this simple, yet effective list so you are prepared going into an AOG battle.

1. Have your top rotable, consumable, and expendable partner on speed dial.
2. Review a list of your past AOGs and build a theme around reoccurring part numbers.
3. Have a partner stock their inventory with your AOG components so you don’t have to.
4. Constantly review your logistical network from your top partners.
5. Delegate certain responsibilities so you can focus on the big issue.
6. Give yourself no more than 30 minutes to procure the AOG component so you can avoid unnecessary delays of indecisiveness.
7. Use a freight forwarder who knows what an AOG means.
8. Your freight forwarder should have a large route network.
9. Calculate your opportunity cost based on various options.
10. Consolidate mutliple line items to mitigate risk.
11. Keep in close contact with your top supplier so they are up to date with your operation.
12. Talk with your supplier, 24/7 via email, phone, or Skype.
13. Have face to face meetings with your top supplier so trust is continually built.
14. Prepare multiple contingencies for every AOG solution.
15. Take 10 deep breaths before making a decision.
16. Automate your AOG procurement process.
17. Reduce mass emails as this adds a level of complexity you may not see.
18. Reduce mass emails as an airline with an AOG increases market 15% - 25%.
19. Take advantage of a pooling program so you invest more on operations and less on stock.
20. Forecast your high usage consumables and utilize an On-Demand & Just In Time service so you have the items as you need them without over investing in inventory.
21. Have weekly meetings with your partners so they’re always on the same level as you.
22. Use partners that you feel are like your own internal employees.
23. Review your mean time between event (MTBE), mean time between removal (MTBR), mean time between unscheduled removal (MTBUR=MTBU), mean time between failure (MTBF) regularly.
24. Use the Pareto Analysis to pinpoint repeat issues with the biggest impact and solve them.
25. Your freight forwarder should be available 24/7.
26. Utilize GPS tracking for your high value AOG freight for piece of mind.
27. Build a friendship with your dedicated account manager.

As you can see there are  many ways to prepare for an AOG. Often times people over complicate this process and engineer complex systems that are not able to accommodate an AOG as it’s happening.

They do a great job analyzing and forecasting potential problems, but once an AOG occurs, it just needs to be resolved…by a human, using close relationships with key partners.

It’s as simple as that.

Do you take advantage of any of these AOG suggestions?

P.S. We have an AOG program that utilizes distribution networks and logistical partners all over the world. Interested? Contact your dedicated account manager here.

Dealing With AOGs & Eliminating The Stress Induced Trauma

AOGs (Aircraft On Ground) are no fun?

It’s the 3 letters that keep you up at night. It’s the 3 letters that make your hands sweat and your heart race. It’s the 3 letters you hope to never hear again.

AOGs are apart of our commercial aviation world. There’s no hiding from them.

You can accept them, deal with them, and minimize them, but you’ll never eliminate them.

Money Is Lost Every Second

No matter if it's an AOG now, or an AOG 7 days from now, time is money.

When an AOG occurs, you spend thousands of dollars in lost revenue and spend hefty fees to resolve the nagging problem. You become vulnerable. Many suppliers smell the AOG desperation from a mile away. And don’t forget about your freight forwarder. They’ll happily accept your 1 day transport request at a rate 200%+ more than routine freight.

This is why you get so stressed.

There’s a lot of money at stake and for you to get it right is imperative. The cold hard truth is things don’t always go according to plan. 

You resolve the problem but then your supplier cancels or your order get’s stuck in customs. Whatever it is there’s hundreds of potential variables that could delay you getting what you need. 

Resolve Your Stress Before You Resolve The Chaos

I have seen so many mistakes made in a stressful state. 

Just this week we shipped 5 parts for an AOG order to one of our partners, but under his stressful state he AOG shipped the wrong order and forgot to process the right AOG order. A silly mistake with incredible consequences. 

He was so stressed that he completely overlooked what was necessary for him to do. This is why work related stress training is so incredibly important. It’s imperative you manage your stress before you manage your AOG. 

If you read this blog often you’ll know I talk about managing stress a lot. Stress in aviation is costly. Being able to think clearly and make quick decisions is paramount to you and your fleets success.

Here are a few quick tips to control your stress on the spot, anywhere:

• Take a 4 second deep breath, hold for 8 seconds and exhale for 16 seconds. Repeat this 5 times and only pay attention to your breath.
• Close your eyes and smile. Think about something that makes you laugh or someone you love. This may sound silly, but trust me the psychology behind it works.
• Go outside, preferably where there is trees and fresh air, and be grateful to be alive.
• Do a quick 10 minute office workout.

Once you get your heart rate back into a normal state (your heart rate increases the more stressed you are) the better you’ll be able to handle the AOG situation that’s in front of you. You’ll make better decisions, you’ll rely on trusted partners, and you’ll avoid falling for tricks and false promises.

The Top Tip To Deal With An Aircraft On Ground Situation

You’ve heard it all. Quite possibly some of it came from us or here on this blog. Stock more, stock less, tap into a pooling agreement, lease your inventory, pool your safety stock, relay on a Just In Time strategy, whatever it is…you’ll continue to have AOGs.

The best tip to resolve this is simple but often times so overlooked. Work with a partner that creates a “wow” experience for you…99% of the time. I know this sounds way to easy but it makes a huge difference. When you feel like your supplier is a direct subset of your operation, you know the relationship is beneficial.

They help you resolve the problem night or day. They’ll solve it directly or find some way to come up with a solution, either way you benefit from a “wow” relationship and trusted support. You don’t have to do it all on your own.

All too often I see airlines fall victim to false promises and when they realize it, it’s too late. They've wasted time and money.

Lean on someone you trust and that creates a “wow” experience for you. Trust me on this, it makes all the difference in the world. Plus, it's more fun working with someone like this anyway.

P.S. We deal with AOGs every day. Send me an email here and tell me what your AOG problems are. We’ll then begin to help you reduce your stress, resolve your AOGs, and create the “wow” experience you deserve.

The Stress Free Benefits Of On-Demand Expendables

Think about all of the aircraft expendables you've bought? Is it hundreds, thousands, hundreds of thousands? More than likely it’s hundreds of thousands.

You've labored over cutting POs, making sure the part number was right, and ensuring you have the right condition, without overspending. Do you need OEM certs? Can you take NS? The demands go on and on.

With every order you waste time thinking about shelf life, overstocking / under stocking, and not having enough when you need it. You know, the dreary old AOG for a $500 bolt. You go mad just thinking about it.

Aircraft expendable procurement has become all to complicated. You stress for what should be stress free situations.

Making things easier is your operational priority, right?

Keeping your fleet in the air generates profit, fumbling over various expendable procurement activities is tedious, time-consuming, and expensive.

The Benefits of On-Demand Consumption

Simplifying processes is key…

It reduces your cost, frees your time to focus on core activities, and reduces errors.

In a world that allows you to get what you want, when you want it, it makes your life easier to plan and coordinate larger procurement activities.

Heck, it may even give you more time to plan and negotiate aircraft acquisitions.

On-demand expendables allows you to stock less with a higher level of service. You know exactly what you have available, when it can be at your facility, all without the messy overhead expenses that inventories create.

You have complete transparency into what's incoming, what's on the shelf, how much you’ll use next month, but you do very little of the work.

With On-Demand expendables you simply consume the material.

Your partner helps structure the forecasting, ensures they have enough safety stock to avoid AOGs, and plans your future inventory needs.

All you do, is sit back and relax.

Simplify Your Aircraft Expendable Procurement

Simplifying your expendable procurement can reduce non-scheduled AOGs by 25% and reduce operational spending by at least 15%.

It all goes back to the basics.

You’ll need to do 4 things to get started.

1. Decide what partner you trust. Yes, trust is a huge part in developing this plan. Think about who creates a “WOW” experience for you. 
2. Run a simple 24 month report on your expendable consumption and share it with your partner.
3. Come up with a short list of 5 operational issues you’re looking to resolve.
4. Your partner will then propose 2 different solutions via video conference call.

Aircraft expendable procurement automation can resolve various aspects of operational inefficiencies. I know, I know, you love control, but this allows you to control more aspects of your organization.

Just think about it, if you never had to procure or stock an expendable again and could have what you needed, when you needed, what would that do for your operation?

P.S. We have an On-Demand and Just In Time program that can eliminate all of your stocking and expendable procurement hassles. For more information about these programs fill out the contact form below!